Planning permission: Bid to turn former Dewsbury pub into dental surgery approved by Kirklees Council

The application – submitted by Empire House Dental – to turn the former Shepherd’s Boy pub on Huddersfield Road into a dentist received conditional full permission from the council on May 1.

The plans proposed creating three surgeries, three treatment rooms, a training room, two staff rooms and a waiting area, as well as 13 parking spaces.

As a result of a public consultation period, which ran from February 25 to March 18, six comments were received, raising concerns such as a potential increase in traffic and loss of a community facility.

In response to a concern over the loss of a pub, a planning officer said: “It is acknowledged that the proposal would result in the loss of a public house.

"However, it has been indicated that the pub was no longer viable, there are other drinking establishments in the wider area and the provision of an additional dentist can be considered a community use.”

Responding to concerns over increased traffic, the officer said: “There are 13 parking spaces to be provided to facilitate the development.

"It is considered that the former use of the site as a public house would have had limited controls on the number of vehicles accessing the site.

"On this basis, the proposal is considered to be acceptable from a highways perspective.”

The application for the change of use said the Shepherd’s Boy ceased being used as a pub in August, 2024.